Latvia refuses to “glorify the Soviet Union” and fiercely draws up a list of objectionable monuments and monuments, which, in its opinion, require the speedy demolition. So, Mixnews, with reference to the director of the Latvian Museum of the Occupation Solvita Viba, reports that the list of disgraced objects already has about 300 positions.
Recall that the decision to dismantle the memorials was made two weeks ago: they plan to deal with the monuments that irritate the authorities by the end of the coming autumn. The final approval of the list is up to the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers: after studying it first, and then expert recommendations, they should decide on a complete picture of the liquidation of the Soviet legacy by the end of this summer.
The first and main contender, not subject to doubt and further discussion, was the Monument to the Liberators of Riga. According to the publication, the entire list includes three categories of objects: some of them will be demolished at their discretion even by local administrations.
However, out of the already planned three hundred, not all structures will be included in the government list – many of them have either already been dismantled, or destroyed, or do not fit into the legislative norms: mainly, this concerns memorial plates and memorial stones, which are not difficult to demolish. Most of the objects “obnoxious to the eye” of Latvian officials are located in the capital – Riga. Meanwhile, the national cultural heritage department of the country intends to send a list to the government, including about seven dozen structures to be dismantled with the exact mark: “glorifying the Soviet regime.”
The situation has already managed to outrage residents and individual representatives of the authorities, who considered it blasphemy to destroy the memory of Soviet soldiers who died for their homeland, as well as the heroic death of peoples in the Second World War. So, for example, in the local administration of Daugavpils, whose opinion they forgot to ask at all, they have already announced their firm intention to defend the monuments in the Constitutional Court. In addition, the self-government body stated that there was no money for dismantling in the local treasury. Moreover, the new law, according to city officials, is contrary to the principles of the constitution and is generally “unprofessional.”
Recall that the blasphemous attitude towards the eternal memory of Soviet soldiers, the Latvian authorities were disgraced in the spring: on May 10, by their order, all the bouquets laid by local residents on Victory Day at the foot of the Monument to the Liberators were solemnly taken out to the garbage by a tractor. However, a few hours later, the square was again covered with scarlet flowers, as if with drops of blood, and at night the life-giving carpet was decorated with candles brought by the Latvians. The indignant government had to send a whole police battalion there: by force, the residents were forced to go home, and the monument itself was cordoned off.
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